Cardopusher
CardopusherYr Fifteen Minutes Are Up

Ever since his remix collaboration with Quarta330 on Hyperdub a few years back, Luis Garbán aka Cardopusher has been on the radar of dubstep and bass aficionados, and even more so after moving from his native Venezuela to Barcelona. On “Yr Fifteen Minutes Are Up”, his third album, the dreadlocked producer has swapped the more grinding and terror inducing riddims of his previous work for sexier, deeper and slower ones. The results are deeply pleasant, and with plenty of mass appeal potential.

This new album, released on Kid606’s Tigerbeat6 label, seems to take its most obvious cues from both UK Funky and the house mutations that have infected the bass music world (for lack of a better word) in recent years. This is evidenced in cuts like “Antisharkz”, “Yr Fifteen Minutes Are Up” and “Coppertoned Punch”, all three of which are standout moments on the album and would not seem out of place on a Rinse FM radio show or in a Kode 9 set for that matter. The percussions are rhythmically infectious, the bass deep and driving and more importantly Cardopusher manages to keep the tracks varied enough to catch the listener’s attention even outside the dancefloor. “Coppertoned Punch” is probably the nicest example of this, and is sure to be a feature of many dancefloor sets over the coming year.

Don’t let this fool you though, “Yr Fifteen Minutes Are Up” is much more than just a dancefloor album with UK Funky or mutated house/bass music inclinations. Cardopusher takes things further with an additional variety of tempos. “Naked In Front Of A Broken Computer” for example isn’t just the best track name you’ve heard this year, it’s also an absolute jam that hovers at a more hip hop tempo and fits perfectly within the new school of hip hop meets electronic instrumental music. As does “Tuff Titty Rap”, another awesome track name for an instrumental hip hop jam that fuses the best of both hip hop beats and electronic music.

Then you have “We Want Ca$h” featuring Sensational on the mic, which is a straight up hip hop track. While the production on it is good, it does suffer slightly from coming across as a bit cheesy and ultimately out of place on what is primarily an instrumental album. Having said that, “Nice Up” which features Juakali does make a much stronger impression – unsurprising considering the man’s track record.

“Yr Fifteen Minutes Are Up” is not just Cardopusher’s most approachable album yet, it’s also a great showcase of a talented producer who’s as comfortable making dancefloor tracks as he is headphone headnodders. While the tracklisting suffers a little from the changes in tempos and style, it’s still an incredibly pleasant listen with plenty of stand out moments for both the home listener and the DJ. If anything it’s also a very tantalising indication of what is potentially to come from the man. Don’t sleep! Laurent Fintoni

Here you have Cardopusher’s most accessible album to the date, swapping the old ominous breaks and gigantic bass music for a sunnier approach to sound and textures, focusing somehow on the UK Funky aesthetic. Yet, there’s some menace in here.